Sewing Expo - Ft Worth

The first Sewing Expo www.sewingexpo.com event in Ft. Worth was huge success. Everyone who attended had a great time taking workshops and shopping with the vendors.

Since I was teaching workshops and staffing a vendor booth to sell my books and trim tools. I found helpers for my booth (sight unseen). Leah Bowie and Joan Crittenden both showed up to work all day on Thursday while I was busy teaching. I had the best first day of sales ever and I sure wish I could take these two with me to Minneapolis next week.

Here is a note I got from Leah today:

"I enjoyed working for you and with you at the recent sewing and quilting expo in Fort Worth. Thank you for the Hexagon Trim Tool. I bought some material this week and finally had an opportunity to sit down and sew! I haven't sewn "for fun" in who knows how long. Thank you for the inspiration! I have attached a picture of my first three blocks that I have made.
Sincerely, Leah Bowie"

I love Leah's blocks and can hardly wait to see her finished quilt. Making hexagon blocks is sooooo easy with this new tool. I think I will abandon my computer for the rest of the afternoon and make a few blocks myself.

Sewing Expo - Fredericksburg, VA

This past week I taught workshops at the Sewing Expo www.sewingexpo.com in Fredericksburg, VA. It's a good thing it was over on Saturday afternoon...I just heard on the news that today, 8 October, Fredericksburg is having a tornado watch.

Of course having thousands of quilters arrive in town for a three day whirlwind of quilting, quilting, quilting, is a tornado of a different kind! At every sewing expo there are workshops, demonstrations, and lots of vendors showing the latest books, products, patterns, fabrics and tools. I was there with my best friend from high school managing my booth to sell my own books and the trim tools I have designed for Creative Grids®. To see the latest tools for quilters visit Creative Grids on facebook www.facebook.com/CreativeGridsUSA

Back to the workshops...I taught Lickey-Split Log Cabin, Easy-Peasy Pineapple and Free Motion Machine Quilting for Beginners. Each class was filled to capacity and what a good time we all had. Everyone was enthusiastic and willing to work hard to learn how to quilt small projects on their home sewing machines. Here are photos from the free motion workshop. Pat James, the Bernina educator who helped in the classroom sent these photos she took of everyone as they learned new skills to take home and practice, practice, practice. Remember quilters, fast needle – slow hands!

I am teaching the same 3 workshops in Birmingham, Alabama on October 10, 11 and 12. Then in Ft. Worth, Texas on October 17, 18 and 19, and lastly in Minneapolis on November 7, 8 and 9. I hope to see you in one of them. Here is the website to sign up: www.sewingexpo.com

Hexies are HOT in HOTlanta!

The Hexagon Trim Tool www.jeanannquilts.com is here. I sold in my booth at the Georgia Quilt Show in Atlanta this past weekend. They flew out of the booth like flapjacks off the griddle. I am attaching a photo of the tool and also the story board I used to demonstrate how it works. It actually works a lot like the Log Cabin Trim Tool. I am having lots of fun making projects with this one!

Hexagon Trim Tool

Hexagon Story Board

Here is how it works.

1. Cut a 2-1/2" strip of fabric. Position the pointy end of the trim tool at the end of the strip and cut the top point of the hexagon. Then turn the tool, line up the marked cutting line on the tool and finish cutting the hexagon shape.

2. Sew strips of fabric to each of the six sides of the cut hexagon. Then line up the hexagon you see in blue on the illustration directly on top of the center hexagon. Trim each side to finish the first round of strips.

3. Sew a second round of six strips and trim just like the first round but this time using the 3rd hexagon shape in the line of hexagons.

4. Add a third round of six strips and repeat the trimming process using the middle hexagon in the line up to finish the block.

Result: A perfect pineapple strip pieced block every time! YEAH!

The ruler cuts 2", 4", 6", and 8" hexagons. The 8" hexagons can be cut from layer cake squares. The smaller hexagons from 2-1/2", 4-1/2" and 6-1/2" strips.

A Family Affair

From time to time I divert from quilting to let you know what my daughter, Heidi Eitel, is doing as exhibits designer at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum - http://airandspace.si.edu/. Today is the opening of a short, six week visit of Leonardo da Vinci's sketchbook featuring the page with his Codex of Flight. Heidi is checking out the lighting in the box. It has to be just right to deter fading that might cause damage to the centuries old sketchbook. It's all in a day's work and I am a proud mother as I see the interesting work my daughter is doing.

I plan to see the exhibit on December 13. I am teaching quilting workshops at the Fredericksburg, VA Sewing Expo - www.sewingexpo.com on October 10th and 11th. It is just a short drive from there to Washington DC on a Sunday morning to see this amazing sketchbook. What could be better, quilting, seeing my daughter and granddaughter and then seeing such an important artifact from antiquity all in one weekend. Life is good.

Here at last!

Quilting a Circle of Nine - the sequel to the original book that my sister, Janet Houts, and I wrote is here at last. From the day we started until the day it was printed and ready for sale it took about nine months...the same amount of time it takes to have a baby and just about as involved but pain free. Well, almost pain free. Making the quilts was pure fun but putting all the parts together to finish the book can be painful as every tiny detail is checked and rechecked.

You can order the book from my website www.jeanannquilts.com - it sells for $24.95. In this new book Janet and I explored the design and use of spacers in much more detail than in the first book. there are patterns for 12 quilts in the book...books are such a bargain when you compare books to patterns which usually start at $10 and can run up to $15 for a pattern for just one quilt so getting 12 patterns with directions, diagrams and bonus lessons is a real deal. 

For a look inside the book you can check out the Landauer Publishing Youtube video for Quilting A Circle of Nine that takes you on a video tour of the pages in the book complete with photos of the projects and the lessons. It is a fun video. I think this is my favorite new TV show! (but then, I am prejudiced) Here is the link.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8a07QZcjiQ&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=Consumers&utm_campaign=dc5d6e4ed5-Consumer_Sept_05_2013_Circleof9&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e85a54f889-dc5d6e4ed5-32486405

Kingsport, TN

I spent last week in Kingsport, Tennessee. It's a lovely mountain town with lots of quilters. The guild sponsoring the workshops was the First Frontier Quilters of Kingsport. www.firstfrontierquilters.org

Like all quilt guilds in America this one has more than it's share of talented quilters. Theresa Richardson is just one of them. Of course her quilts attracted me because she loves to make Log Cabin quilts. On my first afternoon in Kingsport I was excited to see an exhibit sponsored by the guild at the local Renaissance Center. The quilts were in their annual challenge, "Don't Bug Me". Each quilt in the challenge had to have 2 bugs visible on the surface to qualify.

All of the quilts were hanging high on the wall so my photograph is not taken at a straight angle. I had to tilt the camera up to get the shot. Theresa appliquéd two butterflies, one in a block and one in the border, to meet the challenge requirements. The black border with just a touch of appliqué to add drama and interest to the blocks.

On Thursday Theresa took my log cabin workshop and learned to use the Log Cabin Trim Tool. She loves it! Now her log cabin quilts will go together so much faster. Here is Theresa at the log cabin workshop with her first block make with the Log Cabin Trim Tool Two. www.jeanannquilts.com

Theresa says that her next goal is to learn to fly an airplane...let's hope flying won't take time away from quilting. 

I Spy Hexies

A friend of mine, Colette Kocinski, is making an I Spy quilt using a prototype of the new Hexagon Trim Tool. Here are the first two blocks. The quilt will use a mix of 6" and 4" center hexagons. It also uses one focus fabric and 6 fat quarters, plus the fabric for setting the blocks and the borders.

Colette is off to a good start. I can hardly wait to see the rest of the blocks and the finished quilt. Good sewing Colette!